Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

From the Dec. 11 National Herald (HT: Orthodox Christian Laity):

Give us your property!!!

The demand – for that is what it is, in essence – by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to our Metropolitans, presented in a letter signed by him, to transfer ownership of at least one building from each one of them to the Patriarchate, is a terrible idea and the request should be withdrawn immediately.

If it is not withdrawn, then the metropolitans ought to make it clear to Barthlomew that for the sake of maintaining the unity of the church, and the ties to the Patriarchate, they will refuse to obey or even discuss it with the laity. If there should be a metropolitan who, acting to serve his narrow self interest, tries to pressure the parishioners into transferring a property of their community or the diocese to the Patriarchate, then the people should deny him his request and hold him in low esteem.

Because, should this outrageous demand be obeyed, it could lead to the breaking up into pieces of our Church, and to its being controlled by forces in Turkey, which would work toward its neutralization, if not its dissolution as an ethnic group.

We wish there was a nicer way to say it, but this demand by Bartholomew has crossed the line. It is so unacceptable and offensive, but also so revealing of his designs on our Church and its assets, that it raises many questions about his relationship to this community. Continue reading →

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wants legal title to properties around the world, but how would this, as the author below argues, secure the legal position of the the Patriarchate vis-a-vis the Turkish government? Further, with the request for metropolitans worldwide to apply for Turkish citizenship, the Ecumenical Patriarch seems to be distancing the Patriarchate from the other Orthodox churches given that the invitation was only extended to Greek metropolitans.

The National Herald, December 11, 2009, By Theodore Kalmoukos, The National Herald Staff Writer

BOSTON – The Ecumenical Patriarchate – in an official letter recently sent to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and its local Metropolises – requested the official transfer of the ownership of at least one real estate property belonging to each metropolis to the Patriarchate. Archbishop Demetrios of America and the metropolitans have yet to notify the parishes of the Archdiocese of the request of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The same request was made to all other eparchies (ecclesiastical provinces) outside of Turkey that belong to the ecclesiastical and spiritual jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, that they “register at least one real estate property irreversibly in the name of the Patriarchate.”

By taking this action, the Patriarchate is trying to secure its legal position vis-a-vis the Turkish government. The Turkish government does not recognize Ecumenical Patriarchate as a legal entity or its ecumenical nature and mission, and has treated the institution with disrespect since the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The interference and abuses of Turkish officials have been reported in the international media for decades and occasionally elicit protests from U.S. and other government officials and agencies.

Patriarch Bartholomew in his letter (protocol number 861) stated that “The (Turkish) authorities refuse to recognize the legal status of our most sacred institution.” Ankara considers it to be a Turkish institution in the Phanar district of Constantinople under the administrative jurisdiction of the district’s prefect.

The issues that pertained to the property request were discussed at the Holy Synod in Constantinople and the Patriarch stated in his letter that, “We were led to the decision to urge, though this Patriarchal letter, the hierarchs of the Eparchies abroad to register in the Registry of Deeds in the country in which their Eparchy is located, at least one real estate property, community or parish in the legal name of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as follows: “Ecumenical Patriarch, instituted according to the International Law whose See is in Constantinople (Istanbul).” Continue reading →

Writing for AsiaNews.it, Nat da Polis in Istanbul reveals “very important” news:

At the suggestion of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, there is the possibility of granting citizenship to the metropolitans of the Turkish Diaspora. This fact satisfies the ecumenical will of Bartholomew and unlocks the door to the possibility that in future a bishop who now resides outside of Turkey may be elected Ecumenical Patriarch. According to current rules, only those who have Turkish citizenship have the right to be elected to the patriarchal throne. Until now 20 metropolitans of the Diaspora have already applied for Turkish citizenship. In the eventual granting of Turkish citizenship to metropolitans of the Diaspora diplomatic circles see the first proof of the sincere will of the Erdogan government to be open to minorities. In fact, it must also be remembered that in mid-December the European Union will examine progress made by Ankara in its march towards Europe.

da Polis actually filed his story to mark what he describes as the launch today of the “second pan-Orthodox meeting in Chambesy” following the most recent meeting in June at the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s center near Geneva, Switzerland.

The first meeting in June decided on the creation of Episcopal conferences in the countries of the Diaspora, who will refer to Constantinople; in today’s meeting – which will last one week – the issue of autonomy and the autocephalous nature of the Orthodox Churches will be discussed . In short the debate will centre of the cannons to define and accept the autonomy and autocephalous status of the new Churches within the spectrum of the Orthodox world. The meeting aims to resolve issues that have emerged in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent emergence of new nation states, whose churches have sought independence from the Patriarchate of Moscow, demanding so a return to the status they had before the birth of USSR.

In a statement released yesterday the desire to end anomalies that have arisen over the course of time, largely due to historical junctures and the consequent pastoral needs of Orthodox flock, was expressed. The deep desire of Bartholomew I to proceed quickly in order to convene the first major pan-Orthodox Synod of the modern era was also noted.

There are signs here that da Polis’ news article was composed as a “one-source” story. When you talk about churches that “have sought independence from the Patriarchate of Moscow” but neglect to mention that there may be some churches, too, that would like a measure of independence from the Ecumenical Patriarchate (although not at liberty to reveal my sources, I have talked to experts who confirm that there are indeed such churches) then you probably haven’t talked to enough people in the Orthodox Christian world. Perhaps da Polis’ source was making a not-so-sly reference to the situation in the Ukraine?

Unfortunately, I can find nothing, anywhere, to corroborate da Polis’ claim that a “2nd round pan-Orthodox meeting” at Chambesy is starting today (the Fifth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference?). Perhaps, if so, it’s a lower-level planning meeting for the episcopal assembly in May. If you have a source that tells us more, please post in the comment box here. Thanks.

By Yasemin Budak and Elif Kaya in the Nov. 26 Today’s Zaman (HT: National Herald):

Plotters planned to overthrow government by using us, says Bartholomew

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Based in İstanbul, the spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew was referring to the latest revelations of a devious plan, called the Cage Operation Action Plan, by a group of members of the Naval Forces Command aimed at intimidating the country’s non-Muslim population by assassinating some of their prominent figures and in this way undermine the power of the ruling party. Recent incidents in İstanbul’s Kurtuluş neighborhood and Adalar district suggest that the alleged plan had already been put into operation. Speaking on Tuesday, the Orthodox religious leader recalled that a meeting of the Association of the Zoğrafyon High School Alumni was raided about four years ago. Continue reading →